John Ford’s first movie after serving in WWII was My Darling Clementine, in 1946, a romanticized Western tale of the legendary figure Wyatt Earp, played with great elan by Henry Fonda.
Grade: A-
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Theatrical release poster
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The ensemble cast also features Victor Mature (as Doc Holliday), Linda Darnell, Walter Brennan, Tim Holt, Cathy Downs and Ward Bond.
The movie’s title is borrowed from the theme song, “Oh My Darling, Clementine,” sung in parts over the opening and closing credits.
The screenplay is based on the biography “Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal by Stuart Lake,” as were two earlier movies, both named Frontier Marshal (released in 1934 and 1939, respectively).
In 1882 (a year after the gunfight at the O.K. Corral on October 26, 1881), Wyatt, Morgan, Virgil, and James Earp are driving cattle to California when they encounter Old Man Clanton and his sons.
Clanton offers to buy their herd, but they curtly refuse to sell. When the Earps learn about the nearby boom town of Tombstone, the older brothers ride in, leaving the youngest, James, as watchman. The threesome learn that Tombstone is a lawless town without a marshal. Wyatt proves the only man willing to face a violent drunken Indian. When the brothers return to their camp, they find their cattle rustled and James murdered.
In the end, Wyatt and Morgan resign as law enforcers. Morgan heads West in a horse and buggy. Wyatt bids Clementine farewell, promising that if he ever returns he will look her up. Mounting his horse, he muses, “Ma’am, I sure like that name…Clementine,” and rides off to join his brother.
The exterior sequences were shot on location in the visually spectacular (but geographically inappropriate) Monument Valley.
It reunited Ford with Henry Fonda, who had teamed on the 1940 classic, The Grapes of Wrath, cast as Wyatt Earp.
The movie co-starred Victor Mature as the Shakespeare-loving Doc Holliday.
Ward Bond, a regular member of the Ford troupe, and Tim Holt play the Earp brothers.
The sexy Linda Darnell is a sultry saloon girl Chihuahua
Triple Oscar winner Walter Brennan is cast as the venomous villain, Old Man Clanton, and John Ireland as Billy Clanton.
The western won no major awards, but was a commercial hit, grossing $2.75 million in the US and $1.75 million internationally.
Restoration
While Ford’s original cut has not survived, but a “pre-release” cut from after the preview screening was discovered in the UCLA film archives; this version preserves additional footage and alternative scoring and editing. UCLA film preservationist Robert Gitt edited a version that incorporates some of the earlier elements.
The film’s final scene: in the 1946 release, Earp kisses Clementine goodbye; in Ford’s original, he shakes her hand.
Critical Status:
My Darling Clementine is regarded by many critics as one of the best Westerns ever made.
In 1991, the film was deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry.
Cast
Henry Fonda as Wyatt Earp
Linda Darnell as Chihuahua
Victor Mature as Dr. John Henry “Doc” Holliday
Cathy Downs as Clementine Carter, Doc’s former love from Boston
Walter Brennan as Newman Haynes Clanton, a cattleman
Tim Holt as Virgil Earp
Ward Bond as Morgan Earp
Don Garner as James Earp
Grant Withers as Ike Clanton
John Ireland as Billy Clanton
Alan Mowbray as Granville Thorndyke, a stage actor
Roy Roberts as Mayor
Jane Darwell as Kate Nelson
J. Farrell MacDonald as Mac the barman
Russell Simpson as John Simpson
Credits:
Directed by John Ford
Screenplay by Samuel G. Engel, Winston Miller; story by Sam Hellman, based on Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal, 1931 novel by Stuart N. Lake
Produced by Samuel G. Engel
Cinematography Joseph MacDonald
Edited by Dorothy Spencer
Music by Alfred Newman, Cyril J. Mockridge
Production and distribution: 20th Century Fox
Release date: Dec 3, 1946
Running time: 97 minutes
Budget $2 million
Box office $2,750,000 (US rentals)
